I gave my son autism. Discuss.

PenelopeSnuz77 · December 2013

Have any of you seen this?

https://thinkingmomsrevolution.com/how-i-gave-my-son-autism/

It's LOADED with hot button topics. I'm most interested in the point about ultrasounds.

I feel sad for this woman. What a weight to bear! Any who, thought this could spark some good conversation!

yurmom · December 2013

I don't even want to click it.

cyndelgrace · December 2013

I see this going really well.

michellexm · December 2013

With a title like that, I would bet there isn't a lot of science behind that link.

iris427 · December 2013

She needs some serious therapy. I understand trying to find answers when it's your child, but really. She did not cause this.

And while we're going with anecdotes, I did all of the same things in my first pregnancy and my daughter is completely neurotypical as they say. Multiple ultrasounds? Check. Coke everyday? Check. Tylenol? Check. Pitocin? Check. Cesarean? Check. Antibiotics during the first year? Check. I mean, come on.

cakebatter27 · December 2013

Don't have a c section anyone!!!

Wow. Just wow.

MalLanning · December 2013

She's an idiot.
I was born by c section as well as my other two sisters and my 16 cousins. My DH was also delivered by c section as well as his brother...and we don't have autism.

My mom took tylenol and drank atleast four cokes a day when she was pregnant with me! She didn't find out she was pregnant with me until she was 10 weeks due to her really screwed up menstrual cycles.

The woman in that article is nuts. I feel sorry for her child.

katnipeverclean · December 2013

I don't even know what to do with this. I feel really bad for her son, but I laughed at her post. I mean come on? She obviously needed to include a 4th response type. The "woman you're a lunatic but thanks for the laugh!" Also to be clear I'm not laughing at her son, I'm laughing that she actually thinks she somehow "gave her son autism". Edit: I like to leave important words out.

PenelopeSnuz77 · December 2013

I was so shocked when I read it. It is scary to think that women could potentially read that and make decisions about the care of their children based off of an article like that.

It's a giant ball of mom-guilting all wrapped into one giant wall of text.

MalLanning · December 2013

I wanted to also say my mom drank at least every other day while she was pregnant with me until she found out at 10 weeks...so, I'm still normal.

That lady needs some serious help.

Ps--I don't know how to edit on this...

katnipeverclean · December 2013

cakebatter27 said:

Don't have a c section Wow. Just wow.

Damn I guess this baby is staying an inside baby for forever.

iris427 · December 2013

SarahVol131 said:

cakebatter27 said:

Don't have a c section Wow. Just wow.

Damn I guess this baby is staying an inside baby for forever.

Well I guess you can have one if you don't really love your baby. HTH YWIA!!

ksuRN09 · December 2013

dlsexton said:
I don't even want to click it.

Yeah I have a feeling that reading that would make me angry sooo it's probably best I don't.

HJakes78 · December 2013

My gosh... I work in the field of Autism and I pray that none of the parents I work with read that ridiculously article!!!!!

Wow, thanks for sharing!!!!

katnipeverclean · December 2013

ksuRN09 said:

I don't even want to click it.
Yeah I have a feeling that reading that would make me angry sooo it's probably best I don't.

No seriously. It's actually hilarious.

cakebatter27 · December 2013

SarahVol131 said:

ksuRN09 said:

dlsexton said:
I don't even want to click it.
Yeah I have a feeling that reading that would make me angry sooo it's probably best I don't.

No seriously. It's actually hilarious.

Come on. You know you wanna drink the kool-aid. ;-)

You won't get mad. She's such an idiot it's comical.

mexibell · December 2013

Not one medical journal is cited. I can read this stuff if they contain reputable references, but this one does not.

ksuRN09 · December 2013

Ok I broke down and read it. Ridiculous! It's solely based on her opinion and no medical research. The scary thing is that people will read this and believe it!

Sometimes I question what the hell I was thinking deciding to bring a child into this crazy ass world.

cyndelgrace · December 2013

What a terrible amount of mom guilt to carry around. No one knows what causes autism. The only thing researchers seem to agree on is that it is most likely a combination of environmental factors and there is evidence of a genetic link. I think she has really taken that idea to heart and thought of anything and everything that could have played a part. None of it with true evidence pointing to a causal relationship. She's grasping at straws.

Cristy1020 · December 2013

C- sections, come on. This will be my third C-section. Both my kids are as healthy as can be. The only downfall I have on C- sections is the recovery time. /:)

bunkgirl · December 2013

Talk about fear mongering. I'm very disappointed that she seems so hung up on what caused it rather than how she plans to work with her child for the rest of his life. Instead she wants to focus on making people afraid to get a csection or use pit...because there are no other problems that could arise if you avoid medical advice on those choices.

Artistmom30 · December 2013

She must have a terrible amount of guilt to think that all those things caused her soon's autism. That being said, I do feel sorry for her and think her article is way over the top.

Dream123456778 · December 2013

I feel bad for her. She must feel so much guilt.

mrscurlygurl · December 2013

I haven't read it. Don't really want to. But is there a place for comments? Or will she not get called out for how ridiculous this is?

cookieinva · December 2013

I mean any list of how you can make your kid have autism that includes vaccines, because the person "just knows" that was a factor, cannot be taken seriously. But really this is crazy. Coca cola causes autism!! C-sections cause autism! Even IF there is correlation, any good scientist knows correlation is not causation. Unless whoever is funding the study wants it to be LOL. C'mon.

pantherRN · December 2013

I'm not even going to read that garbage. I just think this is a really good example of how everything in the media can make it look like mom caused autism or whatever other ailment you want to pin on mom.

I desperately hope that no mom who has a child with autism or any other ailment for that matter reads that in search of an answer. Awful.

Salsera29 · December 2013

I think she's a little bit of an idiot and a little bit narcissistic. She should be focusing on her son and what interventions he needs, not writing articles about how SHE caused his issues. Ugh. What an AW.

MrsWallick · December 2013

Ok I read most of it. This woman is bat shit crazy.

[Deleted User] · December 2013

I agree, she really could benefit from counseling to deal with her grief over her child's diagnosis. The fact of the matter is that you can list all of the things you did "wrong" all day but they still don't know what actually causes autism. It's understandable to want to pinpoint the cause but it's a whole lot of "what ifs" that may or may not even be related and by insisting they were the cause, it's just resulting in putting fear in other mothers' minds and making yourself feel guilty for something you probably actually could not avoid.

Personally, I would be surprised if it doesn't come out that there's a genetic link that's at least one of the main causes.

Salsera29 · December 2013

@BPaws I heard at one point that there was a possible connection between autism and the age of the father. Has that theory been disproven?

kmb7964 · December 2013

HAS to be MUD. I can't even....

cuntasaurusrex · December 2013

I'm so moody today, I shouldn't have read this. I want to punch her so hard that SHE develops autism.

Jbosarge85 · December 2013

Salsera29 said:

@BPaws I heard at one point that there was a possible connection between autism and the age of the father. Has that theory been disproven?

My step son has autism and DH was 22. DD does not have austism and he was 30. I don't see how age of the father could have anything to do with it. I don't know what causes it. I know SS mom didn't go to a doctor until she was 7 months pregnant but there are a lot of people who don't know they are pregnant till they give birth and their babies don't have autism. I also know she smoked the whole time she was pregnant, but that's why he was born 2 months early. I think there are so many things you can say it is, meet 100 people that all did the same thing and had a child with autism but at the same time meet 100 people that did the opposite things and still had a child with autism. And I will say although I may get flamed I think autism is a term that gets thrown around and given as a diagnoses when there are other issues not necessarily not autism.

mlebates · December 2013

I hate that people blame themselves for these medical issues. No one ever looks at the amount of processed foods there are now compared to when those of us who are "older" were kids.

No one looks at the amount of TV kids watch, or games kids play, or cell phone/tablet usage kids do. The amount of "screen time" with kids now vs when those of us who are "older" were kids.

These factors contribute to Autism/Asbergers. Not c-sections, not antibiotics etc. I had read this story before, and I quit reading after about 3 paragraphs because it was making me angry. Not only is this woman placing an enormous amount of guilt on herself, but she is putting it in the minds of vulnerable, and easily swayed women that if their child has an illness it is THEIR fault as well.

AutumnBonfire · December 2013

Jbosarge85 said:

Salsera29 said:

@BPaws I heard at one point that there was a possible connection between autism and the age of the father. Has that theory been disproven?

My step son has autism and DH was 22. DD does not have austism and he was 30. I don't see how age of the father could have anything to do with it. I don't know what causes it. I know SS mom didn't go to a doctor until she was 7 months pregnant but there are a lot of people who don't know they are pregnant till they give birth and their babies don't have autism. I also know she smoked the whole time she was pregnant, but that's why he was born 2 months early. I think there are so many things you can say it is, meet 100 people that all did the same thing and had a child with autism but at the same time meet 100 people that did the opposite things and still had a child with autism. And I will say although I may get flamed I think autism is a term that gets thrown around and given as a diagnoses when there are other issues not necessarily not autism.

I currently work in special education and I used to work with children with autism and I agree with you. Asperger's Disorder (although that is no longer a diagnostic category) gets thrown around a lot. Every time a student is a little strange, somebody throws out the A word. Weird and has behavior problems? definitely Asperger's. I really wished we lived in a world where we could stop with the labels. Lets just treat symptoms and try to correct problems instead of worrying about always giving someone a label. I have to wonder if some of these kids who are diagnosed so young would still get diagnosed when they become adults.

I read this article a few weeks ago and I wanted to punch my computer. What a bunch of crap and all this does is add fuel to the fire and cause more misinformation.

hutsellwilson · December 2013

She is so self-consumed--that's what made it hard for me. "I gave my son autism waaaaaaahhhhhhhh." Sweet Jesus, lady--get a grip. It was all just so self-indulgent and gross. I'm guessing that she is not in therapy, which might ease her psychological pain from both her fibromyalgia and her insane amount of mommy guilt.

AKbadwolf · December 2013

I read this article many months ago and it had me fuming. Especially since it was posted by someone on my facebook page. My oldest DS has Autism, Pica, and ADHD. I feel articles like this prey on mommy guilt. Moms have enough guilt they don't need help from misinformed individuals that have no idea what they are talking about. I did a bunch of research on the citations this individual used on her articles. Know what I found. She quotes “The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA, Inc) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization of chiropractic family practitioners dedicated to advancing public awareness and attainment of the chiropractic family wellness lifestyle.” (icpa Advancing the Family Wellness Lifestyle, 2013). That is exactly where I want to get my information! :P This was my rebuttal to her article. (with citations as well) https://www.nomijason.blogspot.com/2013/03/mommy-guilt-or-how-i-did-not-give-my.html My key point to this is Mommy Guilt will drag you in circles. If you don’t let the mommy guilt go, it is much harder for the light to come on. To start to see hope. Instead of guilt, see wonder, see your child grow, and learn, and change. Every new milestone in a child is celebrated, but the joy, the sheer wonder of a child doing something that the doctors said they would never be able to accomplish is amazing to behold. I refuse to live my life with mommy guilt. I could spend every hour of every day regretting that I may have done something to my child to cause him to face adversity –or—I can live those same hours marveling at his strength, his courage, and the pure joy he gets from being him.

RichLab · December 2013

OK! I have read enough, most of these drama filled post just serve as reading material for long days at work, but this one is close my heart. My amazing husband was diagnosed with Autism when he was 3yrs old. His is a VERY mild case, most people don't notice it, they just think he is unique. I found out he was in the spectrum as soon as we started dating, and i dove into research! I read books published in the 70's, 80's and 90's because i wanted to see how each decade dealt with new information coming in. I read Temple Grandin books, Jenny McCarthy books, I have followed Keli Thosteinsson’s story from beginning to end, i have talked to pediatricians, neurologists, psychiatrists and psychologists about this, and my best resource of all, I have lived 5years with a high functioning Autistic adult, and cared for two low functioning Autistic children. There is some truth to her article, but mostly, especially how she wrote it, sounds more like random thoughts that she did not back up with facts, statistics and actual events. TRUTH IS there is no definitive reason for Autism, HOWEVER we cannot ignore the thousands of moms who said “my child was fine, then after this vaccine, they never came back”, or the women of The Farm in Tennessee, Ina May Gaskin who has less than a 2% C-section rate, have performed more than 3,000births and no autistic children from those births, or the Amish Community that do not depend on “the English world” for any of their needs, supplementing full, clothes and everything on their own, they have reported few cases of Autism, and the cases reported were situations where it was an adopted child or a child who had been vaccinated, the third is still not known. The CDC estimates 1 in 88 children were diagnosed with Autism in the yeah 2008, and every year gets smaller and smaller, in the 1980’s there were 10 vaccines in the schedule between ages 0-2yrs old, now there are 36 total, Hep B is the first one they inject your new born baby with before they even hand them over, this information I got from a NICU nurse. Our foods are now genetically engineered to be cost effective, but what is that doing to our health? Now there is no proof of anything right now, but there are trends, many of them. The United States has some of the highest rates of children diagnosed with Autism in the world, you would think a country like China, with the highest population, would trump us, however they don’t. As a FTM I have found that you really don’t get much of a choice in a lot of things. You have to vaccinate your kids because you want them to be healthy and because they will not be accepted anywhere else if they are not, unless I grow all my own foods, I will still be subjected to all the things people claim are harmful, but even the air we breathe is chuck full or crap, and that is something everyone knows is true. Since there is no actual answer as to what causes Autism, then we are left with questioning everything, and we should question everything.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

My husband, when we met, had to cover his ears with loud noises, at 23, he threw temper tantrums if he was hungry and it took us too long to get food, he only ate Mac’n’Cheese and refused to eat anything else, he would get quickly frustrated and cry, his parents paid his bills and his parents told me “he will never be a normal husband, he will never be able to go to college, he will never be able to provide for your family as expected because he doesn’t have the skills” I took it all as a challenge. I love him more than I thought I was capable, and I did research and I changed our habits, our lifestyle completely. I told him “if you want me to stay, you better start eating EVERYTHING!” little by little I got him to try new things, changed his routine every day, less sugars, more greens, I forced him to do things on his own, to figure things out on his own. i would sit and talk to him and make him look at me straight in my eyes, I wouldn’t let him use the computer while watching TV, and yes it was labor intensive, sometimes we were like mother and child, but to watch him grow from that was amazing. He is 28yrs old, going to school for elementary education, he is a supervisor at the YMCA and he eat everything! lol we call him bottomless pit! I never took no for an answer, no matter how much he kicked and screamed. We don’t know what causes Autism, the only answer the CDC has is “it is part pre disposition to it and part environmental factors”. Everyone has an opinion on this, as they should, I do advice, read, research, learn why people are making all kinds of claims, cos I guarantee you, according to the statistics put forward by the CD here, in in every 88 of us will have a child with Autism, or you will know someone with Autism, or your child could come home one day asking why one of their friends doesn’t respond well to games or doesn’t talk much.

https://www.thefarmcommunity.com/

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/downloads/child/0-18yrs-schedule.pdf

https://www.mygen.com/CDC_Mandatory_Vaccine_Schedule_Comparison_a.jpg

https://www.ddiny.org/autism-information/autism-facts.html?gclid=CIKFio3PrbsCFeYWMgod6nkAPQ

https://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/news/2011/researchers-track-down-autism-rates-across-the-globe

https://www.vaccinationcouncil.org/2009/06/02/why-dont-the-amish-have-autistic-children/

https://www.autismspeaks.org/ways-give?gclid=CNbJr8XVrbsCFbQWMgod5zwAyA

AKbadwolf · December 2013

@RichLab I love you and I hope my DS can find someone as understanding and loving as you are. Thank you for giving me hope

alyss0nl · December 2013

My thoughts:
I was raised Catholic, but through my years have really pushed through the "guilt" associated with being Catholic. This is my second pregnancy and the first time I'm hearing about the "dangers" of ultrasound. I had three ultrasounds my first pregnancy, and obviously don't see anything wrong with my son (other than the terrible two's). I'm not quite sold on that one yet.

It sounds like she had a rough pregnancy, and rough childbirth. I'm of the belief that you cannot blame yourself for the things that are out of your control. Some of the studies she quoted, I'm not sure on, but you do what's necessary to get the baby out safely. I've read about the dangers of pitocin, so I can see where she's coming from on that.

Don't get me started on the vaccine debate. My child is vaccinated. The next child will be vaccinated. Since my children will be in daycare and down the road going to school, this was a no-brainer for me. Some schools make it difficult for a child to attend who is not vaccinated due to liability. Heck, parents have to sign a waiver for a kid to carry an inhaler in their backpack.

Having a child with Autism is a rough road, but you can't blame yourself for things you did not know were going to happen.

EIK2013 · December 2013

Holy moly...have to chime in. I am a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who works daily with children and adults on the autism spectrum and these articles are non-sense. Women should not read them because it causes fear. There is NO proven research at this point and time that can give you a direct link to what causes autism. Women who write these articles are ridiculous in my opinion, sorry. They make other women feel regret for the decisions they have made and make them scared. This is crap....sorry

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